Method of treatment of worn steel rails.



G LANGFORD. METHOD OF TREATMENT OF WORN STEEL RAILS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I5. I9I5.

Patented Jan. 16, 1917 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. LANGFORD.

METHOD OF TREATMENT OF WORN STEEL mus.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15. 1915. 1 12 35, Patented Jan: 16,1917.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2,

Z 06/275762 Wye Zamgfor G. LANGFORD.

METHOD OF TREATMENT OF WORN STEEL RAILS.

APPLICATION'HLED MAY 15. was.

1 21,865, Patented Jan.16,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

G. LANGFORD.

METHOD OF TREATMENT OF WORN STEEL RAILS.

APPLICATION FIEED MAY 15. 1915. v

Patented Jan. 16,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- rail.

. Ag PA ora ion GEORGE LANGFORD, OF J OLIET, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN MCKENNA PROCESS COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan, 16, llt dt'to Application filed May 15, 1915. Serial No. 28,260.

To all 'whom'it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE LANGFORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Joliet, in the county of lVill and State 'of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Methods of Treatment of Worn Steel Rails, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact-description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a method of treatment of worn steel rails to prolong the useful life thereof for the purpose for which they were originally employed.

As is well known railroad rails wear out rather rapidly due to the exacting service required by modern high speed and heavy loading conditions. This wearing out, ll find, can be traced to several distinct and separate causes, some of which may be enume 'ated as follows: (1) The metal of the rail head is actually ground away or lessened by abrasion or attrition. The fishing including the bearing surfaces for the angle-bars on the lower side of the rail head is distorted and pounded out. (3) The inetal of the head and other parts is displaced as by the rolling and pounding of the wheels.

across the joints. These various causes of worn out rails operate in a more pronounced manner on certain parts of the track than on others. The first eli'ect, namely, the grinding away of metal of the rail, is more pronounced on curves. In fact, the rail is quickly ground away to such an extent that it must be discarded under present practice;

The chief defect that this wearing away causes is an increase in the gage or space between rails and a tapering of the side of the head of the outer rail which has a tendency to cause the outer wheel to climb the The second effect mentioned, namely, destruction or deformation of the fishing also occurs although it is not so pronounced on curves as it is on tangent track due to the fact that the speed of trains is usually decreased on rounding curves. However, the outer rail stress due to centrifugal action and which also suffers the grinding due to slippage of 1,; wheel. is usually worn out very rapidly l inetai and as to de- (si) The ends of the rail are bat tered and deformed by the wheels jumping 'a method whereby t which bears the excessive struction of the fishing. The destruction of thefishing destroys the strength of the rail joint and the rail must be replaced. Heretofore rails thus worn on curves were usually scrapped because the wearing away of the rails causes the angle bars to project and strike the flanges of the wheels,

The prior art has taught that rails which are only slightly or superficially worn may be renewed by heating and rolling but worn rails of the type above mentioned have heretofore been considered impossible of renewing and no attempt to save them has been made.

I am familiar with the processes of re rolling rails and of renewing rails as practised in the prior art and wish it to be understood that my invention is distinct and separate from either or both of these processes.

I employ the term renew in contradistinction to the term reroll as indicating a treatment of the rail whereby the reduction of cross section and change of outline and dimensions from that of "the original rail is made as little as possible so that the renewed rail is substantially a restoration of the original rail. The process of rerolling is also well known.

In a copending application Serial 28096, filed May 14th 1915, I am disclosing lie ordinary worn rail may be renewed into a symmetrical rail resembling in substantially all respects the original new rail and which renewed rail is capable of use in any situation in which the original rail was employed. But there are certain practical limits for the application of that process for if rails are too badly worn they become unsuited to the renewing process therein set out.

In the present application T am d aling with the treatment and renewal of raiis so badly or unsymmetrically worn as to be generally incapable of any further use as railroad rails so far as heretofore known, The teaching of the present invention enables the art to turn these rails to account by forming the same into unsymmetrical rails in which one side is particularly adapted for wear and the other side becomes a supporting or strength side that is to say, t ide of the rail has greater strei '-he weight of metal employed an he ennploymentof deeper a: l

by secures a greater strength of joint. I do not limit the shapes to using one side solely for strength and the other side solely for service but the underlying idea is as above set out. I find that it is possible to do this with a minimum of effort and expense by finishing the service side in the general contour of the original rail and the strength side according to the contourof wear.

The chief object of my present invention is to provide an improved method of treatment of steel rails which have been considerably worn to lengthen the useful life thereof and to render them usable in connection with new rails for the purpose for which they were originally employed.

Another object is to provide a process for reforming an unsymmetrically worn rail into an unsymmetrical rail with a minimum of effort and cost, the renewed rail having the same general dimensions as the original rail with the exception of a decreased width of tread or a decrease in depth of head.

Another object is to provide ainethod of renewing badly worn steel rails into unsymmetrical steel rails which will be straight and evenly formed and free of internal stresses.

Another object is to provide a method of renewing steel rails with a minimum of change in physical condition of the steel and with a minimum shifting of the metal in the body of the rail itself and with an improvement in the quality of the metal.

Another object is to provide an improved method of renewing worn rails by rolling them into an unsymmetrical shape in which one side of the head follows the contour of the original rail and the other side of the head follows the contour of wear of the worn rail and in which the base dimensions of the new rail are substantially identical with the original rail, and in which the fishing on one or both sides is substantially identical with the original rail.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a renewed rail having full and amplebearing surfaces for the angle-bars and which will be usable for the purpose for which it was originally formed, and which,

under certain conditions may be employed with greater advantage than the original new rail, although used in connection with the same to form a track.

A further object is to provide an improved method of repairing track.

I shall now describe with more particularity the nature of my invention in order that those skilled in the art may practise the same.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of the present specification- Figure 1 is a chart illustrating approximately the various degrees and amounts of wear that a rail may be subjected to and the rail head and the angle bar.

approximate forms that the rail will assume under various conditions. (A) illustrates a degree of" wear such as frequently occurs on tangent track. The rail when in this condition is generally taken out because of destruction of the fishing. (B) illustrates a worse condition. (C) illustrates a further degree of wear. (D) illustrates a badly worn rail such as frequently occurs on the outer rail in a curve. (E) illustrates a further degree of wear such as is frequently found in curves. (F) illustrates a type of worn rail such as occurs on the inner rail of curves. Fig. 2 is an outline of the cross section of a standard 100 pound rail such as is at present in common use in this country, the angle-barsfor forming the joints being also shown in outline; Fig. 3 is an outline of the cross section of the rail and angle-bars after the rail has been in service and has become considerably worn. This figure shows also in outline the shape into which I form the worn rail during the process of renewing; Fig. 4: is a shape into which I find it possible to form badly worn rails of the degree of wear shown at E in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a shape into which I find it possible to form worn rails of the degree and type of wear shown at F in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 illustrates diagrammatically a section of railroad'track, repaired according to my invention.

In Fig. 2, I have shown in outline the section of a standard rail such as is in common use on railroads throughout the country, together with the angle-bars 2 and 3, such as are at present employed for forming a joint between the ends of the rails. The rail joint between the ends of rails is formed by the angle-bars 2 and 3 which are wedged in between the head and the flanges of the rail so that they form struts or girders between the two rail ends. The bearing surfaces 7 and 8 at the bottom of the head are given a taper as are the bearing surfaces 9 and 10 between the bars and the flange, so that as the bolts which pass through the bars and through the rail web are tightened-up, the wear may be taken up by driving these angle-bars which act as wedges farther in toward the web of the rail. The bearing surfaces 7 and 8 are much more limited in area than the bearing surfaces 9 and 10. As soon as the bearing surfaces 7 and 8 become destroyed so that the bars 2 and 3 can no longer be wedged between the head and the base of the rail, the strength of the joint is gone; consequently these bearing surfaces 7 ,and 8 be-.

0 me the limiting factors in the strength of the joint and as the joint is the weakest part of the track, the value of the track depends on the bearing surfaces 7 and 8 between the It'is therefore of the utmost importance that when the rails are renewed the bearing surfaces 7 and 8 be maintained at a width sufficient to secure ample bearing of the angle-bars on the bottom of the head.

In Fig. l I have shown various types of worn rails. The types designated as A, B and C may be renewed into symmetrical rails usable with standard-rails according to the process set out in my copending application. (Case 1). But the worn shapes of the type shown at D, E and F are unsuited for such renewal. rails of the D type are suitable for renewal into the rail shown in Fig. 3, the E type into the rail shown in Fig. 4 and the F type into the rail shown in Fig. 5.

The worn out rails, such, for instance, as shown in outline at D in Fig. 1 and in outline 11, Fig. 3, are heated in a furnace until the entire length of rail is brought to a degree ofheat short of materially afi'ecting the quality of the metal. Treating rails at such a low temperature presents great operating dfiiiculties, and it is further undesirable to effect any considerable movement of the metal under such conditions, due to the internal stresses which are set up thereby. The furnace which is employed to heat the rails may be of any type and may be heated by coal, gas, oil or electricity or in any other manner. pose is that the rail be heated substantially uniformly throughout its entire length. The

rail is then taken from the furnace and ispassed through the rolls. In practice I employ two'sets of rolls which may be placed in tandem, the finishing rolls giving the rail the general outline indicated in outline 12 in Fig. 3. It will be noted that in renewing this type of rail an unsymmetrical rail is produced. One side of the rail has sub-' stantially the outline of the original new rail and the other side of the rail has substantially the contour of the worn rail. The metal has been removed fro the upper head corner and side face by wear and the finishing rolls true up this side of the rail leaving ample bearing surfaces 7 and 8 for the angle-bars 2 and 3 and leaving the base of the rail substantially the same width so that the same fittings may be employed throughout.

In forming the rail in the shape illustrated in Fig. 3, I find it necessary to move the metal of the rail only a Very slight amount; hence the rolling can readily be accomplished even while the metal is at a relatively low temperature. The draft upon the various parts of the rail may be made substantially equal and it is unnecessary to apply any excessive pressure at any particular part of the rail. As a result the metal fills the rolls completely and the rail does not shift or squirm in the rolls. The rail comes out straight and is of substantially uniform section and quality throughout its The present invention teaches that The only requirement that I im-' length, and finished on all its surfaces. This is true as well of the other shapes which I will describelater. After the rolling operation, the rail will be found to be longer than it was originally. The ends are sawed off to bring the rail to the desired length and new bolt holes are formed in the web of the rail.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated the form into which worn rails of the E type may be shaped. Rails of this degree of wear have heretofore been considered unsuitable for further use in track or. for renewing. The metal on the worn side is so much reduced that in order to bring the necessary amount of metal to the service or gage side of the head and at the same time preserve the strength of the strength side and give ample width of bearing surface between the angleplate and the bottom of the head, I move the metal of the head on the worn side away from the center so as to increase the moment of inertia of the section of that side with respect to what it was before treatment. This enables an angle-bar of greaterstrength to be employed and a greater beam strength at joints to be secured. The fishing on the left hand side of the rail (Fig. l) has not been changed and a standard angle-bar may be employed. Theshoulder 7 has been moved up on the right side and the face on the right side has been made to slope more sharply.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a form into which heads of the degree and type of wear shown at F of Fig. 1 may advantageously be formed. The forms shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are designed on the principle of maximum efficiency of the metal for rail purposes. Rails of the F type occur on the inner track of curves. By pushing the bearing surface 7 toward the top of the head, I secure sufficient metal to make an ample tread and at the same time have ample metal for the serviceor gage side and increase the moment of inertia of the strength side. I also obtain an ample bearing surface at 7 for the anglebar and can employ a deeper angle-bar of greater strength. The forms shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are produced by heating, rolling and sawing off the ends as particularly described in connection with Fig. 3. The rail which is thus renewed is then relaid in the track with the full side of the head upon the inside or gage side of the track, that is, facing the flanges of the wheels so that the inner face of the rail will be substantially flush with the inner face of the standard rail, when the two are joined together in the same track. q

The rail with the narrow tread as shown in Figs. 3- and 4, lends itself to a particularly advantageous use as the inner rail on curves, where it is desired to reduce the bearing area betweenthe inner rail and have been made to supply a special rail to meet this situation, but I have found that the same is unsatisfactory, due to the fact that the general contour of such special rail is different from that of the standard rail I forming the tangent track.

rest of the track.

In Fig. 6, I have shown a section of track comprising the curved portion let and the tangent portions 15 and-l6. The worn rail may be taken up from any part of the track or more particularly from the outer curved track and treated as above set out and then relaid as shown at 17, 18 on the inner track of the curve with the former gage side facing out. The narrow tread or renewed rail may also be employed on tangent track as shown at 19. The advantage of this type of rail in such situations, that is, upon curves, is that the bearing surface between the wheel and the head of the rail has been reduced so as to reduce the friction of the wheels in rounding the curves, but the bearing surfaces 7 and 8 are of the proper width to give substantially full contact between the under side of the rail head and the top of the angle-bar.

.The forms illustrated in Figs. 3, 4: and 5 all partake of the following general advantages: The angle-bar does not Project be yond the side of the head, so that there is no danger of the wheel flanges striking the bar. The same or greater strength at joints prevails between rails of this type, as is found in the new rails, since the same or better joints are employed here as are used in the There is no lack of conformity at the gage side at the connecting point between this rail and new rails. The offset to the side of the head is not'on the gage side and therefore there is no lip or irregularity at the connection where this renewed'rail is joined to the standard rail. The economy of this design is very striking. It is possible to employ rails which have been worn very badly and which would otherwise be scrapped. The economy of manufacture is also very striking, since I employ an outline corresponding on the outside of the rail to the contour of wear on the gage side of the worn rail, as it formerly lay and employ an outline on the gage side corresponding to the contour of the original new rail.

The economy of the method of repairing the track which my invention teaches is of' very great importance. The worn rail is taken up, renewed and laid with the former gage side out. More specifically the invention teaches that badly worn rails, such as occur on the outer rails of curves, may be taken up, renewed with a narrow tread, as I have indicated, and relaid as the inner rail on curves with the previous gage side facing out.

It is to be understood that I do not intend to limit the use of this type of rail to curved tracks, but-the same is also applicable to use on tangent tracks.

It is obvious that the worn rails may be formed into a different shape and into clifferent dimensions from what I have shown and described, without departing from the spirit ofmy invention, so long as the one side of the head is made to conform in general to the contour of the original rail head, and the other side is made to correspond in general to the contour of wear.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following:

1. The process of treating worn rails to render them usable for the purpose for which they were originally employed and in connection with new rails, which consists in heating the rails to a degree short of inuriously aifecting the quality of the metal,

then forming the contour of the'head only into an unsymmetrical shape'having on one side the contour of the original head and on the other side a contour corresponding in general to the contour of wear,'but leaving the flange and web substantially the same and forming a suitable fishing on the rail and then sawing off the ends.

2. The process of treating worn rails to render them usable in connection with rails having the original unworn cross-section and for the purpose for which .they were originally employed, which consists in heating the rails to'a degree short of injuriously affecting the quality of the metal, then distributing the metal of the head into an unsymmetrical shape, followiiig onone side the general contour of wear, and on the other side the general contour of the original rail, the cross-section of the web and flange being altered as little as possible whereby a rail of substantially the same general dimensions, with the exception of a narrower tread, as the original new rail, is produced. v

3. The process-of treating worn rails to render themusable in connection with rails having the original cross-section, and 'for the purpose for which they were originally employed which consists in heating the rails to a degree short of materially affecting the chemical composition of the metal, then redistributing the metal of the head into an unsymmetrical shape following on one side the general contour of wear, and following on the other side the general contour of the original outline of the head, restoring substantially the original fishing and maintaining substantially the full width of the base of the head, the cross section of the flange being altered as little as possible, whereby a rail of substantially the same general dimensions of outline, with the exception of a narrower tread, and of width of base is produced, such that the rail may belemployed in the same track with new rai s.

4. The process of treating worn rails to render them usable as the inner rail on curves in connection with original new rails which consists in heating the entire rail to a degree short of injuriously afi'ecting the chemical composition of the metal, then redistributing the metal of the head into an unsymmetrical shape having on the gage side the general contour of the original rail head, and having on the outside a tapered face corresponding in general to the contour of wear and having a narrower tread than the original rail to reduce the friction between the wheels and the rail, restoring substantially the original fishing and maintaining substantially the full width of the base of the head, the cross-section of the flange and web being altered as little as possible, whereby a rail of substantially the same general dimensions with the exception of less width at the top of the head, and of width of base, is produced, such that the rail may be employed in the same track with new rail and with the same rail fittings.

5. The process of treating rails which have been worn to an unsymmetrical shape to render them usable for the purpose for which they were originally intended, which consists in heating them to a degree short of injuriously afiecting the quality of the metal, then forming the metal of the head on the less worn side into a wear or service side, and forming the metal of the more worn side into a strength side having greater girder strength at the joints for the weight of metal than the service side, and forming the fishing on the strength side to give full width of bealring surface of the angle-bars, finishing the rail on all its surfaces and then sawing oil" the ends of the rail.

6. The process of treating rails which have been worn to a markedly unsymmetrical form, which consists in heating the rails to a degree short of injuriously affecting the quality of the metal, then forming the metal of the head on the less worn side into a service or wear side, and forming the metal of the more worn side into a strength side having greater girder strength at the joints for the weightof metal than the service side by increasing the depth of fishing on the strength side, and moving the metal of the head on that side farther away from the flange, leaving the flange and web and height of rail substantially the same as the original rail, refinishing the rail on all its lateral surfaces and sawing off the ends to bring the rail to the desired length.

7. The process of treating rails which have been worn to an unsymmetrical shape to render them usable for the purpose for which they were originally intended, which consists in heating them to a degree short of injuriously affecting the quality of the metal, then forming the metal of the head into a service side and preserving substantially the original fishing on that side, and forming the other side of the head into a strength side having substantially full bearing surfaces for the angle-plates, finishing all the lateral surfaces of the rails, disturbing the flange and web as little as possible and sawing ofl the rails to bring the same to the desired length.

8. The process of treating railroad rails which have been worn to an unsymmetrical shape, to render them usable for the purpose for which they were originally intended, which process consists in heating the rails to a temperature short of injuriously affecting the quality of the metal, then rolling the rail, thereby forming the metal of the head into an unsymmetrical head having more metal upon one side termed the strength side than upon the other side, termed the service side, maintaining the fishing upon the service side substantially the same as the original rail, finishing the flange and web with as little movement in the metal as possible, then sawing ofi the ends of the rail and forming new bolt holes at the ends of the rail.

' In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 13th day of May, A. D. 1915. GEORGE LANGFORD.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,212,365, grentedjanuery 16, 1917, upon the application of George Langford, of Joliet, Illinois, for an improvement in Methods of Treatment of Worn Steel Rails, errors appear in the printed specification reeuiring correction "as follows: Page 3, line 77; after the Word been insert the word generally; page 4,1ines 46-47, strike out the words or irregularity; and that the said Letters Petent should be read with these. efoweetions therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Pat ent Offiee.

Signed and sealed this 13th dey of Febfuary, A. 1)., 1917.

' R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

